Wednesday, 12 October 2016

PEMRA Could Put You in Jail for Four Years with Rs.10 Million Fine for Owning Indian DTH

In case you haven’t heard, PEMRA, the electronic media watchdog, has banned Indian DTH services in Pakistan. It is now illegal to own an Indian DTH service and anyone found selling or using it will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The deadline for banning Indian DTH is 15th October 2016.

PEMRA has now specified how stringent the punishment for those using Indian DTH for commercial and personal purposes will be. The electronic media watchdog will:

Slap a Fine of upto Rs. 10 Million

Send the offender to jail for up to 4 years

The previous announcement by PEMRA that outlawed the sale and use of Indian DTH services in Pakistan didn’t mention the specific details about the punishment to be meted out. However, in a bid to make the public aware about the illegality of owning an Indian dish to get superior quality channels, the authority has made it clear about how it intends to prosecute lawbreakers. It has also asked federal and provincial bodies to help it curb the use of Indian DTH.

It should be mentioned that Pakistan is losing millions of dollars in revenue because of the lack of certified and authorized DTH services in Pakistan. The launch of DTH services in Pakistan is the need of the hour and it is hoped that the government and the private sector come together and make this a reality.

To find out more about PEMRA and report the use of Indian DTH services, you can dial 0800-73672 for additional queries.